That’s what he said

By ADAM REILLY | January 17, 2008

The man behind the curtain
Maybe liberals and progressives should find these convergences reassuring. After all, Patrick used his message to win a competitive Democratic primary, and then a general election; he was the first Democrat elected governor in 16 years, and the first African-American governor in the state's history. Similarly, Obama is seeking to win a Democratic primary, to return the presidency to Democratic hands, and to break an even bigger racial barrier. If the same message works, why not use it?

For that matter, why worry about where it came from? Axelrod probably matters more than he admits. (Here’s John Edwards after Iowa in 2004: “I came here a year ago with a belief that we could change this country, with a belief that the politics of what was possible — the politics of hope — could overcome the politics of cynicism. . . . [T]onight we started a movement to change this country that will sweep across America.”) But that just means he might be the long-awaited Democratic answer to Karl Rove.

Still, there’s that authenticity problem. Obama’s message is undeniably powerful. But that power diminishes a bit when you realize it isn’t his alone. Whether, after this realization becomes widespread, it will still pack enough political punch to get him to the White House is an open question.

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Topics: Media -- Dont Quote Me , Deval Patrick, Deval Patrick, Rudolph Giuliani, More

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ARTICLES BY ADAM REILLY

BULLY FOR BU! | March 12, 2010
After six years at the Phoenix , I recently got my first pre-emptive libel threat. It came, most unexpectedly, from an investigative reporter. And beyond the fact that this struck me as a blatant attempt at intimidation, it demonstrated how tricky journalism's new, collaboration-driven future could be.

STOP THE QUINN-SANITY! | March 03, 2010
The year is still young, but when the time comes to look back at 2010's media lowlights, the embarrassing demise of Sally Quinn's Washington Post column, "The Party," will almost certainly rank near the top of the list.

RIGHT CLICK | February 19, 2010
Back in February 2007, a few months after a political neophyte named Deval Patrick cruised to victory in the Massachusetts governor's race with help from a political blog named Blue Mass Group (BMG) — which whipped up pro-Patrick sentiment while aggressively rebutting the governor-to-be's critics — I sized up a recent conservative entry in the local blogosphere.

RANSOM NOTES | February 12, 2010
While reporting from Afghanistan two years ago, David Rohde became, for the second time in his career, an unwilling participant rather than an observer. On October 29, 1995, Rohde had been arrested by Bosnian Serbs. And then in November 2008, Rohde and two Afghan colleagues were en route to an interview with a Taliban commander when they were kidnapped.

POOR RECEPTION | February 08, 2010
The right loves to rant against the "liberal-media elite," but there's one key media sector where the conservative id reigns supreme: talk radio.